North Korean Troops used as Human Mine Detectors

North Korean soldiers used as 'human mine detectors': Kim Jong-un's troops deploy in single-file battlefield death march until they are blown up one after the other

North Korean troops sent to support Russia are being used as 'human mine detectors' on the frontlines of the invasion of Ukraine. 

The soldiers are deployed across a battlefield until they are blown up one after another, according to Lieutenant Colonel 'Leopard' of Ukraine's 33rd 'Big Cats' battalion, who revealed that their lives are worth little to their higher-ups. 

'The North Koreans have a "meat grinder" strategy. Where Ukrainians use a mine-clearing vehicle, they just use people,' he told the Times. 

'They just walk in single file, three to four metres from each other, if one is blown up, then the medics go behind to pick up the dead, the crowd continues one after another. That's how they pass through minefields.'

Leopard said that the soldiers sent by Kim Jong Un often refuse to be taken alive, preferring to be killed in battle or to simply run as their commanders stand by unfazed.

The US estimates that 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to fight for Russia - about 4,000 of whom have already been killed on the battlefield, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

Drone footage taken last month shows the Russian meatgrinder tactic in action, with two dozen North Korean soldiers seen slowly jogging towards the Ukrainian front line in clusters across an open, snow-covered battlefield as part of 'suicidal charges'.

They didn't try to seek cover, which was 'like a dream for our mortars and machinegunners,' Ukrainian veteran Vitaliy, 35, told the Times. 

A macabre image of dead North Koreans killed fighting for Russia in Kursk region

The North Korean soldiers have yet to learn how to use drones. Pictured above is a North Korean soldier who was filmed by a Ukrainian drone

A macabre image of dead North Koreans killed fighting for Russia in Kursk region

North Korean soldiers' faces revealed in first close-up videos as they fight for Putin in the Kursk region on the border with Ukraine

Vitaliy fought in the battle of Bakhmut, which saw waves of Russian murderers and rapists being sent to their deaths as apparent cannon fodder.

'The Wagner group had a simple order: advance or die. It looked like exactly the same thing for the Koreans,' he said. 

The Khorne Group - an organisation linked to Kyiv forces in the 116th separate mechanised brigade and 95th air assault brigade -, shared footage showing what appeared to be North Korean soldiers dumbfounded by a Ukrainian FPV drone above them.

Another dark clip showed a line of what were said to be the bodies of soldiers from Pyongyang lying in blood-covered snow alongside slain Russians after their troop was all but wiped out. 

The Khorne Group said: 'The long awaited North Koreans. Weakness and bravery are their tactics, their trump card is good fitness.' They were 'applying the same tactics as 70 years ago', Khorne Group added, alluding to the Korean War.

Ukrainian and South Korean officials say the North Koreans have proven a burden to Russian forces due to their outdated battlefield tactics, while inexperience with drone warfare makes them easy targets for Kyiv's battle-hardened warriors.

But Leopard said that while North Korean soldiers aren't anywhere near as heavily armed as their Russian counterparts, this will change the longer they are involved in the war. 

'North Koreans use only small arms, machineguns, grenade launchers, mortars, maximum - that's the extent of their technology', he said. 

'They do not use drones yet, only the Russians. But I suspect they are starting to learn this, and the longer the war drags on, the more likely they are to innovate', he added. 

The Khorne Group - an organisation linked to Kyiv forces in the 116th separate mechanised brigade and 95th air assault brigade -, shared footage showing what appeared to be North Korean soldiers dumbfounded by a Ukrainian FPV drone above them 

Reports say new footage shows North Korean troops on the frontline fighting for Vladimir Putin in Russia's Kursk region, partially occupied by Ukraine

A North Korean soldier is seen hiding from a Ukrainian drone

Earlier, the US warned that North Korea is 'significantly benefiting' from its troops' deployment in Ukraine as it makes them a more capable fighting force. 

Deputy US ambassador Dorothy Camille Shea told the UN Security Council that nearly 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been training in Russia and fighting Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region. 

Shea said Kim Jong Un's soldiers are 'significantly benefiting from receiving Russian military equipment, technology and experience, rendering it more capable of waging war against its neighbours.'

She added: 'In turn, the DPRK will likely be eager to leverage these improvements to promote weapons sales and military training contracts globally.'

South Korea's UN ambassador, Joonkook Hwang, told the council that North Korean soldiers are 'essentially slaves to Kim Jong Un, brainwashed to sacrifice their lives on faraway battlefields to raise money for his regime and secure advanced military technology from Russia.'

This comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared Russian troops were 'burning the faces' of dead North Korean servicemen to conceal their identities, sharing macabre images to illustrate his claim.

Citing a report by South Korea's intelligence services, MP Lee Seong-kweun said yesterday: 'In December, they (North Korean troops) engaged in actual combat, during which at least 100 fatalities occurred.

Russia burns faces of dead North Korean soldiers to hide losses, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says

North Koreans were fighting with severely outdated tactics according to analysts and officials

'The National Intelligence Service also reported that the number of injured is expected to reach nearly 1,000.' 

Despite those losses, the agency also said it had detected signs North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was preparing to train a new special operations force to ship westward.

Lee noted that the North's elite Storm Corps - from which the initial deployment was drawn - had 'the capacity to send reinforcements'.

The NIS also predicted 'that Russia might offer reciprocal benefits' for a new deployment, Lee said, including 'modernising North Korea's conventional weaponry'.

The lawmaker added that 'several North Korean casualties' had already been attributed to Ukrainian missile and drone attacks and training accidents, with the highest ranking 'at least at the level of a general'.

The NIS said the high number of casualties could be attributed to the 'unfamiliar battlefield environment, where North Korean forces are being utilised as expendable frontline assault units, and their lack of capability to counter drone attacks,' said Lee.

'Within the Russian military, complaints have reportedly surfaced that the North Korean troops, due to their lack of knowledge about drones, are more of a burden than an asset.'

Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation in Kyiv, said: 'The Russians' tactics in the Kursk direction are as follows - North Korean soldiers are being accumulated in the woodland and driven to storm narrow sections in several directions at the same time. Their losses are significant.'

North Korean soldiers are seen in this image shared by Zelensky

Ukraine is in the midst of launching a second offensive in Russia's Kursk region and is facing a barrage of long-range missiles and ongoing advances from Russia as both sides seek to put themselves in the strongest negotiating point possible before trump takes office.

Zelensky called the Kursk offensive 'one of our biggest wins,' which has cost Russia and North Korea, which sent soldiers to help Russia in Kursk, thousands of troops. 

Zelensky said the offensive resulted in North Korea suffering 4,000 casualties, but US estimates put the number lower at about 1,200.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14270135/North-Korean-soldiers-detectors-Putin-Kursk-Meat-grinder.html

North Korean troops taking part in training

Soldiers training at an undisclosed location in North Korea

North Korean soldiers march during a mass military parade

Evidence emerges that North Korean women fighters have been sent to the war zone

North Korean troops training in Russia 

North Korean troops in eastern Russia undergoing training

North Korean prisoner of war captured by the Ukrainian armed forces

James Woods on Los Angeles Fires

James Woods slammed the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department for making DEI her priorities while not filling the reservoirs with water to prevent the damage done by the LA wildfires. 

The actor, 77, has been speaking to the press about the fires, which have destroyed his Pacific Palisades home among at least a thousand others.

While praising 'the people' of the LAFD, he trashed the leadership of Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.

He specifically cited a portion of Crowley's bio that her 'highest priority' is being devoted to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, a much-hated practice of corporations among conservatives. 

'Our new fire chief... she took over and she put on her bio that her priority, 'my highest priority,' is inclusion, diversity and equity... and somebody forgot to fill all the reservoirs, I guess, with water.' 

Crowley's bio does indeed say, among other things, that: 'Creating, supporting, and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities are Chief Crowley's priorities.' 

Woods pointed out that she was focused on that while, in the meantime: 'Somebody forgot to fill all the reservoirs, I guess, with water!'

The actor cited his own experience, where fire trucks pulled up to his home but couldn't pump water because the reservoirs were empty.

James Woods slammed the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department for making DEI her priorities while not filling the reservoirs with water to prevent the damage done by the LA wildfires

While praising 'the people' of the LAFD, he trashed the leadership of Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.

'When you are the fire chief, this isn't a social justice exercise that you are in charge of,' he said. 

'This is [about] you getting water to areas that need water because there are fires and hundred-mile-an-hour winds burning houses to the ground.' 

'If it is true that things were handled this way, if it is true that Gavin Newsom is the absolute blithering idiot that I believe he is in the way he has handled fire management in this state again and again and again and again, this isn’t a wake-up call,' he said.

He then suggested the mismanagement at a government level was 'the kind of thing they have tribunals for, where they try people.'  

Earlier Wednesday, Woods broke down during a CNN interview as he described evacuating his Pacific Palisades home amid the Los Angeles wildfires.

He became emotional as he shared how his wife's niece offered to help after their home was destroyed by the fires. 

Woods said his wife's eight-year-old niece 'came out with her little piggy bank for us to rebuild our house.'

Crowley's bio does indeed say, among other things, that: 'Creating, supporting, and promoting a culture that values diversity, inclusion, and equity while striving to meet and exceed the expectations of the communities are Chief Crowley's priorities'

'I'm sorry, it's just one day you're in the pool and the next it's all gone,' Woods added as he teared up. 

The Oscar winner continued: 'I'm sorry, I thought I was stronger than this...'

Woods had previously shared a video of the view from his destroyed home and wrote on X: 'I took this last night from our beautiful little home in the Palisades.

'Now all the fire alarms are going off at once remotely. It tests your soul, losing everything at once, I must say.'

As the wildfire continues to ravage California's Pacific Palisades, many celebrities have had to flee their luxurious homes as authorities warned of an 'immediate threat to life.'

Evacuation notices were initially placed along the affluent coastal region, with a chilling warning of an 'immediate threat to life' from the California Department of Forest and Fire Protection.

The apocalyptic inferno has torn through the ritzy neighborhood, home to many A-list celebrities, including Ben Affleck, Jhene Aiko, Tom Hanks, and Miles Teller, among others.

Reality TV star Spencer Pratt, 41, and his wife Heidi Montag, 38, lost their home in Pacific Palisades due to the raging wildfire.

Actor James Woods, 77, broke into tears as he described evacuating his home in Los Angeles

A ferocious new wildfire has erupted in the Hollywood Hills - sparking a mass evacuation of the iconic Hollywood Boulevard amid warnings that another 100,000 residents should be prepared to evacuate their homes.

The hellish, fast-moving inferno sweeping through the Hills triggered the urgent evacuation order at 6pm local time on Wednesday - impacting at least 50 acres already near Runyon Canyon. 

At least five people have lost their lives in the devastating natural disaster so far - with 1,000 structures completely obliterated and thousands of people left with nothing but ash across the City of Angels. 

Now, the Sunset Fire is set to wreak burning havoc in the celebrity epicenter, causing the famous strip, home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the TLC Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Bowl, to be evacuated.   

The alert read: 'A Mandatory Evacuation Order is now in place for Laurel Canyon Blvd (on the west) to Mulholland Dr (on the north) to 101 Freeway (on the east) down to Hollywood Blvd (on the south).'

Witnesses who spotted the new blaze said that the flames 'exploded in size,' because the area is fertile with dense brush that is unfortunately spurring on the inferno. 

Fire crews are dropping water from the skies in an effort to contain the blaze and stop the spread to nearby neighborhoods. 

But embers are beginning to fly ahead of the main fire and catch onto buildings, with video capturing at least one residential building catching alight as of Wednesday evening.  

A ferocious new wildfire has erupted in the Hollywood Hills - sparking a mass evacuation of the iconic Hollywood Boulevard

Fire crews are dropping water from the skies in an effort to contain the blaze and stop the spread to nearby neighborhoods

Meanwhile, stone-faced Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (Communist) has stayed quiet after her city was razed by the wildfires - refusing to comment after she personally cut the LA Fire Department's budget by $17.6 million in 2024.

Speaking from above the blaze in a helicopter, ABC 7 reporter Chris Christi said: 'Very concerning sight here. Just north of Hollywood Boulevard. This thing has exploded in size. This is all very thick fuel that is fueling this brush fire. 

'They have immediately called for the 20 closest trucks to come out here, but accessing this fire is going to require more than trucks. 

'This thing is blowing up before our eyes. It is a very sizeable fire that is spreading rapidly.' 

Hollywood High School is serving as an evacuation center, but traffic down from the Hills is already at a complete gridlock as residents attempt to flee, sparking fears there will be similar mass-panic as seen in Pacific Palisades, when people abandoned their cars in the street and bulldozers were required to clear the way.

Traffic is backed up in Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City as thousands of residents heed warnings that the fast-moving fire is approaching.

Thousands of homes and structures have already been lost across California, but with fires still burning it's impossible for officials to get a grip on the true scale of loss.

The hellish, fast-moving inferno sweeping through the Hills

The Pacific Palisades - which was the first luxurious area to be engulfed in the fires - is home to the likes of Miles Teller, Anthony Hopkins, and John Goodman.

But the Hollywood Hills is perhaps the most sought-after celebrity zip code in the world, with big names such as Salma Hayek and Quentin Tarantino residing in the area.  

With thousands of firefighters already attacking the flames, the Los Angeles Fire Department put out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help, and weather conditions were too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fight.

At least 70,000 people were ordered to evacuate — a number that kept changing because evacuation orders were continually being issued, officials said. The flames marched toward highly populated and affluent neighborhoods home to California's rich and famous. Hollywood stars, including Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore and Woods, were among those forced to flee.

The remains of a house burned to the ground as a result of the Palisades wildfire in Pacific Palisades

Images of the devastation showed luxurious homes that had collapsed in a whirlwind of flaming embers. The tops of palm trees whipped against a glowing red sky.

The home of Vice President Kamala Harris was included in an evacuation zone.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14265559/James-Woods-rips-LA-Fire-Chief-Kristin-Crowley-DEI.html

Joe Biden claimed that Los Angeles fire hydrants had run dry due to power being cut to water pumps because of the killer wildfires.

Biden's press conference came as the affluent suburbs of Calabasas and Hidden Hills, home to the Kardashians, were issued an urgent evacuation order as a new apocalyptic fire tears through West Hills. 

The fast moving blaze is threatening the Malibu Canyon area north of the 101 Freeway near Calabasas, home to the Kourtney Kardashian and Will Smith. Kim and Khloe Kardashia live in nearby Hidden Hills.

Already, the road out of Calabasas is gridlocked with bumper to bumper traffic as locals heed warnings and abandon their homes. 

AccuWeather, a private company that provides data on weather and its impact, increased its estimate of the damage and economic loss to $135-$150 billion.

Many Los Angeles residents have called for the resignation of Communist Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom .

Bass has faced heavy criticism for being in Ghana to attend the West African country's presidential inauguration.

Firefighters battle the Fire in strong winds as many homes burn in Pasadena

Bass tried to cut the LA Fire Department's budget by some $23million in 2024 but settled for $17.6 million in cuts. 

Scores of A-listers have taken to their social media accounts to hit out at Bass and the city over the response to the fires. 

Sarah Michelle Geller said on her Instagram: 'City of LA you want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on the roads helping.'

Actress Sara Foster added: 'We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. 

'Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. 

'Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits. RESIGN. Your far left policies have ruined our state. And also our party.'

Former Dancing with the Stars professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy also expressed his dissatisfaction on social media.

'5th largest economy on the planet. Firefighters didn't have enough water pressure to do their job?! Are you joking me?! The taxes we pay for 3rd world infrastructure is unbelievable?! Come on. 

Actor James Woods also blasted the mayor, blaming her and California Governor Gavin Newsom for the fire.

'This fire is not from 'climate change,' you ignorant a**hole. It's because liberal idiots like you elect liberal idiots like Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass. 

'One doesn't understand the first thing about fire management and the other can't fill the water reservoirs', he wrote.

Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes, Paris Hilton, James Woods, Billy Crystal and his wife Janice all claimed to have seen their homes go up in smoke in the Palisades Fire. 

Gavin Newsom was left fumbling for a response after he was chased down by a distraught Los Angeles woman who was demanding answers about the wildfires ravaging the city

Wildfires ravage the City of Angels

A structure is burned by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles

Firefighters work the scene as an apartment building burns in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county

California Governor Gavin Newsom looks on as a fast-moving wildfire engulfs plush homes in Los Angeles

The wildfires ravaging Los Angeles 

Communist LA Mayor Karen Bass is under fire for cutting the LA Fire Department's budget by a staggering $17.6 million this year

Candy Spelling's $24million home on Malibu's Pacific Coast Highway was lost in the wildfires

The star lives primarily in the $155million Spelling Manor in Holmby Hills 

Beyonce 's mother Tina Knowles revealed that she lost her Malibu bungalow to the wildfires

Her message was accompanied by a view of the ocean from her bungalow, with  dolphins surfacing over the waves

Jeff Bridges, 75, confirmed his Malibu family home was burnt down in the Pacific Palisades fire

Bozoma Saint John - who is the latest castmember of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills - revealed that she had lost her Malibu home

The 47-year-old former chief marketing officer of Netflix shared a photo of the rubble

She shared this devastating photo of her neighborhood alaze

She also shared other images of memorable times she shared on the property with her child Lael

This was a photo of the serene property before it was burned down

Melissa Rivers lost her Pacific Palisades home in the L.A. fires - which she had purchased in 2021 for $7.7 million

After being evacuated from her home, the star was able to save her late mother Joan Rivers' Emmy award before the property burned down. 

Beloved actor John Goodman's home was also wiped out in the wildfires

Debris was strewn across the property in aerial pictures obtained by DailyMail.com, while a huge tree that once stood at the front of the home had also fallen in the blaze

Pictured: The gorgeous home as smoke billowed in the distance behind as the fire approached

Anthony Hopkins' home is also gone, devastating photos show

Top Gun: Maverick star Miles Teller and his wife Keleigh bought their dream home for $7.5million in April 2023. The home is now entirely wiped out

American Pie star Eugene Levy's home has also been leveled

Nothing remains of Billy Crystal's palatial home beyond the tennis courts

Aerial images show the tennis court almost entirely unmarked, despite the wreck right beside it

Actors Adam Brody and Leighton Meester 's $7 million mansion is among the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires

The couple purchased the five bedroom home in 2019, but pictures show the property now engulfed in flames

Aerial photos show how Scary Movie star Anna Faris has been left with nothing but a pile of rubble

Anna Faris' $5 million eco-friendly abode was totally decimated by the blaze

Paris Hilton, 43, lost her beachfront mansion in Malibu in the fires.

The oceanfront Malibu home owned by the socialite was 'burned to a crisp' 

'This is weird to post but our house is gone,' Kim Kardashian's hairstylist Jen Atkin wrote on Instagram 

Rikki Lake revealed that she has lost her 'dream home' in the wildfires

Reality stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag confirmed their home has also been lost

There was nothing but rubble left behind

40-year-old actress and singer Mandy Moore shared photos of the rubble of her home

Jhene Aiko (pictured with partner Big Sean in West Hollywood back in February 2017)  has revealed her Pacific Palisades home has burned down in the LA fire

Jhene had purchased the Pacific Palisades mansion for $5.6million in July 2023

Chicago native John C. Reilly purchased this 2-bed, 2-bath 2,620 sq ft home in Altadena for $1.225 million back in June of 2004, now reduced to ashes

Actor Cameron Mathison, 55, shared a shocking video of the still-flaming rubble of his former home in Pasadena, California

The home was razed to the ground

Actress Cobie Smulders, 42, also tragically lost her $5.6 million home in the Pacific Palisades fire

Former First Lady of California Maria Shriver shared footage of the charred remains of her neighborhood